Tuesday, January 25, 2011

That day we were at lost as to what and where for lunch so he drove around aimlessly until we came to this vicinity and he goes, "Let's have Veg Burger!" (yes, he kinda' got the name wrong).

Honestly, they only vegetarian burger that I've ever eaten before was the one from Komala's, where it comes served with these big, fat piping hot fries that's lighlty spiced. So, I guess I got really curious about a vegan place selling mainly 'burgers'.

The exterior

The interior

The place was done pretty nicely, bright, with lots of greenery and the wooden furniture were painted white, to give that rustic look and an overall down-to-earth appeal. I like!

Price-wise, they come across as a little steeper that your regular burger joints. Then again, it's a well-known fact that organic foods are more expensive, anyway.

Juices

Comes together in the set, with the burger and fries.(L) Orange Passionfruit (R) Apple Blackcurrant.

If you expect them to take out real, fresh fruits and put them through the juicer or something; guess you'll be disappointed. These 'juices' came from a dispenser. Seemed like the diluted fruit juice concentrate type.

Potato Spinach Pops - $3.80 5pc

Can't help ordering this.Kinda' tempting, actually. These were freshly fried and came served to us, piping-hot ( a little over-fried, though).

A ball of mashed potato with spinach bits. Reminds me of bread-crumbed bergedil or the Japanese Korroke (croquet).

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Was over-timing at the office so we decided to order McD. Saw the new burger promo on their McDelivery website and ordered it out of curiousity.

Double Fortune Fillet - $5 (ala carte)

So I guess they are featuring this during the festive CNY period instead of the usual Prosperity Burger? Have they 'killed' the elongated bun & beef patty with its raw onions + black pepper sauce already?

And the Twister fries... huhu!

Uh oh. Tini, I hope you won't be too disappointed.... :(

Side view

Don't mind it being a lil' lopsided. Tried shifting the fillets but it seemed that the melted cheese had somewhat glued them to the bun.

McD seem to feature a lot of 'doubles' (to clear stock mebbe?) but I don't mind the fish fillet cos' they are pretty light so it doesn't make me feel as guilty like when I had the double chicken or beef patties (I miss the Double Prosperity Burger already!).

Inside

Let's not discuss the dismal-looking lettuce leaves shall we?

What makes this Double Prosperity burger different from you regular Double Fillet-O-Fish, is the sauce. The 'Tangy Sesame Mayo Sauce'.

I kinda' like the sauce, actually.

It has this spicy bite that's akin to wasabi. Ok, maybe not exactly that. Could be mustard, actually. I don't really know. Since mustard is both sour & spicy and that's the flavours I detect in the sauce. Plus the sesame give the sauce a slight nutty taste which is interesting.

Beats plain tartar sauce, anytime!

Strawberry Shortcake McFlurry

Look at the StrawberryShortcake McFlurry sold at other countries. They have real cake bits inside!

This one here should be call strawberry-Oreo McFlurry or something. Pfft.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

I know this version is not really authentic and all but I really prefer this over the regular Malay (or even Peranakan) mee siam.

Maybe it's because of its more subtle flavours. Or the lack or sourness in the gravy. Perhaps it's the nutty taste. Or how it's made slightly creamy with a little coconut milk.

Not that many places I know serve this. There's the infamous Geylang rojak stall. There are a couple of stalls at Haig Road. And then there's this one here. :)

Psst... The reddish tint of the bee hoon should be due to it being fried with a bit of chilli paste but this one here is orange. And the sambal served on the side also have this odd reddish hue which looked pretty scary.

The one in the picture however, was a more simplified version because it comes as a side dish to a rice porridge set.

They have the main set where plain rice porridge is served with chye poh, salted egg, fried white bait and peanuts, spicy soy sauce + sambal kangkong on the side. My idea of comfort food.

And it's also from this stall, that I ate my very first century egg (with pickled ginger slivers) and got hooked ever since.

Hassan Moroccan Rotisserie Chicken

I can't believe I forgot the stall name again. I actually made a mental note of it. Then again, I'm a pretty forgetful person, to start with.

My brother was still reminiscing the previous time we had the chicken here. Been bugging me to come back here for this chicken. Coming from a person who detest non-fried chicken (especially grilled ones), this is a pretty big deal.

This time, instead of the 'Quattro', we got the 'Duo', half-a-chicken instead of quarter.

As soon as it arrived on the table, everyone rushed for the crispy skin, with its subtle cumin flavour/scent. Even the fleshy parts like the breast meat ain't dry. Mmmm....!

Mutton Chop

My hubby's order.

For someone who needs to watch his blood pressure, this doesn't seem like a good order.

I don't know why it takes so long to prepare this. I'll only order this when I have ample eating time, actually. Yes, this is also a favourite of mine.

From the fresh cucumber & tomato slices, to the Mei Ling canned peas. Then the freshly fried homemade potato wedges and of course, the partially cooked sunny side-up egg. And then, the scarily reddish-hued mutton chunks.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Starhub Green used to have this air-conditioned food court called Food Hub, where the food's good but expensive. Expensive, for foods sold within an industrial area. It was said that the rental was a tad high, that's why.

Over a short period of time, stallholders by stallholders moved out and the premise turn out to be a sad-looking food court with dark cavities where former stalls used to be.

It wasn't a surprise that the food court eventually closed at the 3rd quarter of last year.

Well, not anymore! Apparently, a new management took over and the area is alive and bustling again, since 6th Jan. And... the food is considerably cheaper!

Row of Muslim food stalls

I entered from the main lobby and was greeted with the sight of not 1, or 2 but a row of 3 Muslim food stalls!

Apparently, they belong to the same lessee. Must have been called the "Super Group" or something, going by how most of their food are labeled, "Super".

Nasi Goreng Ayam Penyet - $5

They have the 'Super' Ayam Penyet at $4 but I chose something different. Supposedly Ayam Penyet with fried rice.

The fried rice was freshly fried with every order and everyone must have been intrigued by this offering and ordered it. Imagine the frying that the cook had to do!

I have to say that the fried rice was a little bit off, taste-wise. A tad bland, I'd say. But that was made up by the fried chicken which was still warm & crispy (possibly re-fried?) and the sambal that totally kick-butt with it's taste and spiciness. My nose started leaking by the end of the meal, actually.

The whole ensemble was pretty dry, honestly and I wish that they at least serve a bowl of soup with this. Apparently, they only serve soup with the regular Ayam Penyet order.

Nasi Lemak, 'Super Wing' set - $3

The first time I was there, I had every intention to order their "Super Complete" Nasi Lemak set, where there's the sunny-side up egg, fried chicken wing, fried ikan bilis (white bait) with peanuts & otah. Another option is to have the fried 'ikan selar kuning' (Golden Band Scad) instead of the chicken.

Alas, they have all the side ingredients but they ran out of the rice, of all things.... The nasi lemak must have been good, I guess. They truly miss out on the lunch crowd, that way.

Anyway, I came back the week after and decided that the "Super Wing" set will satisfy me nicely. There's sunny-side-up egg, fried chicken wing, fried white bait & peanuts + cucumber slices.

I asked for more sambal and the friendly lady happily obliged. I'm glad I did, for the sambal suits me just fine. Not incredible but it's the kind of taste I expect with Nasi Lemak. The slightly sweet & sour + spicy kind.

And another plus? The chicken was still crispy! I like that. Makes me miss the fried chicken wing from Selera Rasa Nasi Lemak at Adam Road, though.

Cornflakes Macaroons - $3

The last stall from this group sells cakes, traditional kuehs & cookies, apparently. I can't resist my Hari Raya favourite and bought a pack of these Cornflakes Macaroons.

At $3 for 10pcs, these aren't exactly cheap but I don't mind buying whenever the yearning comes!

Nasi Padang set - $4.30

At the other side of the food court is your typical Nasi Padang stall. "Al' Jannah Nasi Padang" sell their mix-rice by sets and they seem pretty affordable. Sets of 1 meat + 2 vegetable dishes for just $3.80.

Monday, January 03, 2011

My colleague and I decided on having lunch at Breeks for our (almost) annual New Year eve lunch and we settled on their new branch at City Square Mall.

Lunch crowd was moderate but they were slightly under-staffed at times. So the pressure was on the (sometimes) lone server who really tried his darnedest. Kudos to him (too bad I didn't get his name).

Lunch experience could have been much better, had they not missed our on my main course and the very busy + inexperienced staff was unable to notice (I'm too patient for my own good, sometimes).

There was this calendar-like table display highlighting various dishes going for just $12.90 on different days. The Char-Grilled Quarter Chicken goes for $12.90 everyday. It had seemed so cheap that we actually brushed it off as student promotions. As it turn out, it's meant for everyone!

Plus, if you add $3, you can get the soup-of-the-day and choice of drinks ranging from Ice Mocha, Lemonade or soft drinks. For regular main course orders, an addition of $5 will entitle you to the soup-of-the-day + 1 soft drink.

Cream of Mushroom soup (Soup-of-the-day)

Seems like the out-the-can variety save for some real mushroom bits inside. Came served with a piece of bread that looks like pizza crust.

Something different and it's pretty decent.

Garlic mashed potato

Very pretty, eh? I wonder how they do it.

We opt to upsize our meal and ordered a side portion of this for just $2.50.

I had a taste of the sauce only, initially and I was like, "Euww!" Then my colleague reminded me that it's GARLIC mashed potato that we ordered. So I tasted the sauce together with the mash and yeap, they DO complement each other. Not bad, actually.

I always try to order this whenever I see it on the menu, cos' I was curious about this 'Buffalo' sauce. I comes off like BBQ+ tomato + i-dunno-what-else (maybe paprika or Tabasco??) and taste really good when eaten warm.

It also helps that you eat them crispy wings before they get soggy.

Char-Grilled Cajun Chicken Chop

"...Our char-grilled Cajun Chicken Chop is truly an aromatic and tasty dish that woulddefintely satisfy your craving for boneless grilled dish, enveloped and smothered withherbs and seasoning rubs and char-grilled with the right crispy doneness on the outsidewhile retaining the succulent moist when slicing the chop with our steak knife..."

My colleague's order. Came with a side of waffle fries and some boiled veggies.

And true to its description, the boneless chicken thigh is crispy outside (esp. the edges) and succulently moist inside. And the meat itself must have been well marinated for it already taste pretty good on its own.

Cajun sauce

The cajun sauce was served separately, maybe so as not to mar the taste of the chicken marinade, I guess. It taste somewhat like a smoother version of salsa. One can either pour it over the chicken or dip in it.

Char-Grilled Salmon

I was thinking of salmon and contemplating between the regular Char-Grilled Salmon or the one with Teriyaki sauce. Coincidentally, the $12.90 promotional highlight the Char-Grilled Salmon itself so I guess, I got my choice made for me.

"..The high content of Omega-3 in Salmon is one of the main draws of this dish, compliment with its herb and lemony butter, a perfect dish for the health buff with a sinful twist..."

And then they forgot my order. -___-

(When it finally showed up) The salmon came out fine. It was a pretty big piece, too. Almost twice the size of the one served at Botak's Favourites. The skin at the bottom was really crispy and the meat wasn't overcooked.

On the other hand, not the same can be said about the sides. I don't have high expectations for the pasta to be 'al dente' but the spaghetti was so overcooked, it was really soft; to the consistency of laksa bee hoon. When mixed with the tomato sauce, it seemed... Eugh!

The boiled veggies suffered the same fate. Cucumbers are naturally soft so one only need to blanch the to make it more savoury (taste even better raw, actually). This one was totally boiled till it can be mashed with a slight press of my fork.

I had expected the salmon to be drizzled with lemon-butter sauce ala Ikea but it turns out to be Cajun sauce instead. I don't remember seeing the word 'Cajun' in its description anywhere. Disappointing, really.

--------------------------After the add-ons, starters and sides, we ended up being too full for anything else and sad to say, had to miss out on the Classic Avocado drink and even the Coco Crisp ice-cream that I've been eyeing.

We planned on getting the Classic Avocado as our drinks but we got soft drinks served with our add-ons so we pushed that for dessert... Guess we're not meant to indulge much on that day.

Never mind. There can always be a next time. Maybe just the waffle fries & avocado. And maybe the Coco Crisp. Yeah.

Saturday, January 01, 2011

Either that I was miffed with my bad choices or that I'm really getting jaded with this place. Save for the nice restaurant ambiance, I think I'm better off getting nice steaks & such elsewhere, like Spize Concepts @ Simpang Bedok, Botak's Favourites etc.

All the hotel restaurants were fully booked by the time this procrastinator finally got down to booking for her mum's birthday dinner. So we ran out of dining ideas on that weekday night.

Onion rings

Typical ones that we can get anywhere else; at maybe 2x the price.

Seafood in a pan

"An assortment of crispy breaded seafood accompanied with french fries..."

Please don't expect anything like the seafood platter from Fish & Co. or Manhattan Fish Market. These are fish fillets, prawns, calamari rings and mock scallop - that's tossed into a deep-fryer and then served in a pan for aesthetic purposes.

I think this works better as a starter instead. Sans fries.

My brother made this order on top of his Spaghetti Carbonara(sorry no pic). So I guess he meant to share it with the rest of the table.

There's no sauce for this too, so the both of them doused their various meats in chilli sauce. That was one heck of a grease bomb, there. Really. Like The Great Fry-Up on a platter. So much so that my hubby got a neck strain 2 days later. NO MORE, I tell you. Uh-uh.

My mum had been coughing for a few days so I thought she'll choose one of the many grilled dishes available. Especially the seafood ones like fish, which is considered pretty 'safe' for her in that condition.